DECEMBER 30 — I thought since 2024 was coming to a close, I wouldn’t see any more drama.
Boy was I wrong, at least regarding the chess world.
Last Friday, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen quit the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York because the World Chess Federation (or FIDE) organisers wanted him to change out of his jeans.
Carlsen had finished playing Round 8 when he was approached by an arbiter informing him that he’s being fined US$200 (RM893) for wearing jeans (which violated the tournament’s dress code).
Carlsen said okay I’ll change tomorrow; the arbiter said sorry you’ll have to do it ASAP or you won’t be paired for Round 9 (which essentially meant losing the round).
Note that technically, he could forfeit Round 9 (and subsequent rounds for the day) but still come back the next day to play more rounds as long as he adhered to the dress code.
However, it was at this point that Carlsen quit the tournament. His interview with Take Take Take (a chess app and podcasting platform) implied he hadn’t intentionally planned to violate the dress code.
He was sort of rushing but he did put on a new pair of shoes. He also said that when FIDE denied his request to change the next day (instead of straightaway) it became a “matter of principle” for him to stand his ground (although he did also say he was “too old to care”).
Clearly, there’s some bad blood between the highest rated chess player in the world and the most powerful chess organisation, as the former couldn’t resist a bit of profanity at the end of the interview.
So that’s it. Top player in the world quits a high-profile competition less than halfway through.
It’s a Lose-Lose for sure. The tournament no longer has the best player in the world (perhaps forever as Carlsen has hinted he wants nothing to do with FIDE any more), and the best player in the world has absolutely nothing to show for his efforts (in fact, Carlsen was doing quite poorly at the start) and may have even come across as petulant.
So who was being unreasonable here?
FIDE for being a stickler with the rules (“NOW or else”) or Magnus for refusing the immediate trip back to his hotel to change (“TOMORROW or else”)?
FIDE’s detractors will focus on the so-called triviality of the issue. I mean, it’s just a pair of jeans, right?
And Carlsen did say he would change the next day. Why be a hard-ass and force him to do it ASAP, especially since you already fined him?
On the other hand, one could argue that rules and rules. Plus, what was so difficult for Carlsen to make a quick round-trip to his hotel and back? Was he being unnecessarily prima donna-ish?
I think if this involved a Malaysian athlete rage-quitting a tournament over something as trivial as attire, the athlete would get the brunt of our collective criticism.
Alas, Carlsen isn’t Malaysian and Malaysians just ain’t that great at chess.
But what do you think?
